Telegram founder Pavel Durov has voiced support for the recent mass protests in France, criticizing President Emmanuel Macron for neglecting his people. The demonstrations, which have spread across the country, call for Macron’s resignation and for France to leave the European Union. Recent polls show Macron’s trust rating has fallen below 20 percent.
The unrest has led to a governmental collapse after a no‑confidence vote against Prime Minister François Bayrou. Durov, a French citizen, echoed the protesters’ grievances, saying the French are “done with empty PR and posturing” after eight years of neglect. He expressed pride that Telegram is being used as a tool for protests against Macron’s policies.
Durov has long positioned Telegram as a defender of free speech and privacy, contrasting it with what he describes as authoritarian censorship attempts by French authorities. He has previously clashed with other Western governments: in Germany, he faced fines for the platform’s failure to remove illegal content, and in the United States, lawmakers have accused Telegram of enabling extremist groups.
In August 2024, Durov was arrested at a Paris airport and charged with complicity in crimes linked to Telegram users, including extremism and child abuse. He was released on bail under judicial supervision, denied the allegations, and called them politically motivated. Durov has accused French authorities of waging a “crusade” against free speech and claimed intelligence officials tried to pressure him into censoring conservative content during Romania’s 2024 presidential election.
He has also criticized France and the European Union for imposing increasingly stringent censorship and media restrictions, which he says damage the country’s reputation as a free society. The situation in France continues to evolve, with the protests and governmental collapse highlighting a deepening divide between the state and its citizens. How the French government will respond to the protests and the mounting criticisms remains to be seen.
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